The Cost of Living
​A 2D platformer where you play a little robot who goes to save his sweetheart
Category : 2D plateformer
Role : Game Designer/Level Designer
Duration : 72 hours
Presentation :
The Cost of Living is a game made in group for the Ludum Dare 43 with the theme “sacrifices must be made”.
The player embodies a robot whose goal is to bring back energy to save his girlfriend. During the levels, the player will get different powers like a dash or a double jump.
However, the player can only have two powers at the same time. He has to choose for each new power he gets which one he sacrifices.
Each power consumes a certain amount of energy when used. The player has to manage his energy in order not to fall to 0.
My work within the group
From the theme "sacrifices must be made" the idea of having to sacrifice abilities to gain others quickly arrived.
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Given the short time available and the fact that we were all relatively novices at the time, the choice to make a 2D platformer was quickly imposed.
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We then decided which skills the player will be able to recover. They are four in number:
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The dash: which allows you to pass over certain obstacles.
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The flamethrower: which allows you to burn cardboard boxes.
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The double jump: which allows you to reach higher places.
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Climbing: which allows you to climb on the walls.
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The game is made up of three levels that each time give access to new abilities.
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As the player can end up with different combinations of skills, the levels had to be designed to be doable in the possible configurations when entering the level.
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In addition, since each use of abilities costs energy, we also had to design the levels taking into account the number of times the player would have to use their abilities.
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On this project, I mainly worked on the level design of level 1 and the integration of assets in all levels.
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The player therefore starts with level 1:
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This level consists of a tutorial that explains the controls.
The player then recovers his first ability: the dash, which allows him to pass over the holes placed on the path.
After that, the player gets the flamethrower which allows him to burn the boxes on his way.
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The player then has the choice between going under the conveyor belt and using the dash or burning a box to build a staircase and go over it.
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The player then reaches the end of the level and goes to level 2:
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This level begins with the appearance of a new ability: climbing.
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The player must then choose whether to get rid of the dash or the flamethrower.
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If he replaces the dash, the player has the option of burning the boxes, going under the mailboxes and the bench, climbing the boxes or creating a staircase by not burning one.
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He can then burn the vertical cardboard and climb the wooden "steps". Before arriving at the new ability choice: the double jump.
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For this first part, if the player has replaced the flamethrower, he must climb the box, pass over the mailboxes and the bench. Then he must jump over the puddle and climb the wooden wall on the left before also arriving in front of the double jump.
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At this time, the player still has to choose which skill to replace with the double jump. Depending on his choices, he can end up with several combinations:
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Dash + Double Jump
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Double jump + Climb
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Double Jump + Flamethrower
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The flamethrower is not useful to finish the level which consists of a course of platforms which require the double jump. Some passages allow you to pass over obstacles thanks to climbing or to pass over holes thanks to the dash.
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The player ends up reaching the end and therefore goes to level 3:
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In this level, three paths are offered directly to the player and which are accessible according to the combination of abilities that the player possesses at that moment.
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The top path is accessible through the climbing + double jump combo, which allows the player via platforms and wall climbing to cross the level.
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The middle path is the most direct, but one of the most difficult and is accessible with the dash + double jump combo. The dash allows you to pass through the waterfall and the double jump allows you to dodge the acorns that rush towards the player and kill him if they touch him.
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The bottom path is the easiest and can be accessed using the double jump + flamethrower combo.
The player must burn the big cardboard then follow the course of platforms by burning the cardboards which block the passage until reaching the end of the level.
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The player has finished the level, he arrives at the end screen and the game ends.